Breathe
by ReiraKurenai
Summary: "Are you alright?" Cullen asked, worried. "Oh yes," Suledin hummed. "I'm fine. I'm just in labour."


**A/N: As seen on AO3. Just a little short I wrote instead of studying for my Japanese Linguistics exam. Procrastination at its best, yeah? Haha.**

 **You know the drill: I am not affiliated with BioWare or any associated companies. I don't own Dragon Age and no profit is made from this.**

* * *

 _Breathe_

The sun was shining down on the Inquisitor's room, as it always did in the morning. And like every morning, it acted as an alarm for Cullen Stanton Rutherford. He opened his eyes, blinked, then grunted and turned on his side. He had hoped to see the familiar dark tresses of his beloved, but her side of the bed was mysteriously empty.

Suledin Lavellan was not a heavy sleeper, a trait they had in common, but she did enjoy a sleep in. She was never out of bed before he was. Confused by her absence, Cullen sat up and scanned the room with his eyes. He found her sitting by the fire, wolf pelt wrapped around her and her swollen belly snugly, with her nose in a book.

"Suledin?"

She looked up and smiled. Cullen frowned. She looked exhausted. She was often exhausted, but it looked particularly bad this morning.

"Good morning, _vhenan,_ " she greeted him. "Sleep well?"

"Yes," he replied. "What about you? How long have you been awake?"

Suledin appeared to be in deep thought for a second. "Three hours I think?"

"Are you alright?" Cullen asked, worried, as he kicked his legs over the edge of the bed so he could get up and approach her.

"Oh yes," Suledin hummed. "I'm fine. I'm just in labour."

He was halfway around the bed when she dropped that bombshell. While he gaped at her, she returned to her book, as if being in labour wasn't a big deal.

Then the panic set in. "What? Labour? Right now? As in the baby is coming? Shouldn't we go get a healer? Shouldn't you be lying down or something?"

Suledin looked up again and tilted her head to the side with a mischievous smile. "No. Why are you panicking, _vhenan_? I thought the healer had talked to you about what to expect?"

A blush crept onto Cullen's cheeks. That was indeed true, but being told what to expect was different from suddenly being _in_ the situation. He inhaled deeply to try and calm his erratically beating heart. He needed to calm down. He knew what to do (in theory at least). Panicking wasn't going to help.

"How far apart are the contractions?" Cullen asked once he had filtered through his thoughts.

"Far enough that I can still enjoy this book," was the response.

Okay, that gave them time. At least Cullen thought so. He racked his brain for what to do next. It was probably too early to get the healer. And he knew Suledin would probably be comfortable staying right where she is with her book for the time being. He wasn't sure if he should offer to get food for them. Could a woman in labour eat? Would she even want to eat? Why hadn't the healer mentioned this? The panic returned.

" _Vhenan_ ," Suledin's deep voice interrupted his panic. "Breathe."

He hadn't even realised he had stopped breathing. He smiled at her sheepishly.

She smiled lovingly back. "Go get Dorian. He can keep me company while you go about your day."

Cullen blinked. "You want me to work while you are in labour?"

Suledin laughed. "It will keep you distracted, no?"

She had a point. So he quickly dressed, kissed her goodbye, and then disappeared down the stairs.

* * *

Dorian was not in the library. Unlike the Inquisitor and Commander, the Tevinter mage slept like the dead. Which was ironic considering his choice of magic. And it was still early, so the necromancer was likely still asleep. In the room he shared with his partner.

Cullen prayed they weren't naked.

He knocked. Moments later the door creaked open, revealing a sleepy (and dressed, thank the Maker!) Iron Bull.

The Qunari looked at the human man, and before Cullen could even open his mouth, he yelled over his shoulder: "Dorian! Suledin is in labour. Get your ass up there."

Profanities came from the bundle on the bed, before Dorian's head popped up from beneath the covers. " _Kaffas_! How far are the contractions?"

"She's reading," Cullen supplied.

" _Reading_?" Dorian queried. Then he snorted and shook his head. "Of course she's reading. I'm assuming that means early hours?"

Cullen nodded. "I, uh, started panicking so she told me to go to work. And get you to keep her company."

Dorian and Bull snickered, causing Cullen to blush for the second time that morning.

"You're adorable, Commander, really," Dorian hummed as he got up. "A pity Suledin snagged you first."

"Hey! What am I? Chopped liver?" Bull asked, mocking hurt. Dorian rolled his eyes and slapped the Qunari's arm. Bull smirked in response and slapped Dorian's ass.

* * *

"Good morning, darling!" Dorian sang once he finished climbing the stairs to Suledin's quarters. She was still sitting by the fire, but the book had been abandoned. She looked up at him and grimaced.

"What did I ever do to you?" Dorian asked as he grasped his chest in mock hurt.

Suledin laughed, but it quickly died as she grimaced again.

Dorian was by her side in an instant. "Contraction?"

She nodded. He sat down next to her and rubbed smoothing circles on her back as they waited for the contraction to finish. A few minutes later she exhaled and sat back.

"Morning," she finally returned his greeting.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Good."

"Not nervous?"

"Only a little. I've seen enough babies being born to know what to expect."

"Poor Cullen, he looked absolutely lost. Even after all the prep you had given him."

Suledin laughed. "He's adorable like that."

"Oh, I know. I'm green with envy!"

Suledin scrunched her nose. "Ugh, it's still a hundred years too early to be reminded of that nasty creature."

Dorian laughed. "Don't worry, I'm far more beautiful than that monstrosity we had to kill. And because of my radiance I don't want to possess or be you. No offence, darling."

"None taken."

* * *

It was around midday that Cullen realised he had managed to get through the morning without stressing too much about Suledin. As always, she knew him well. Work was always the perfect distraction.

But he was hungry, so now was the perfect time to get something to eat and check in on her. Nobody had come running to his office yet, so he safely assumed there was no pushing happening. He swung by the kitchens before making his way across the hall to the door to Suledin's quarters.

Dorian was lounging on the couch, a bottle of wine in hand. Cullen had to refrain from rolling his eyes. The Inquisitor, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Suledin?" Cullen asked.

Dorian lifted his head. "Balcony, over there."

The mage pointed to the smaller balcony that wasn't near the staircase. Cullen nodded in thanks and wandered over to the door. Suledin was resting her elbows on the railing, with her head resting on her arms. It looked rather funny seeing her bending over. But the look on her face warned Cullen that a joke would not be welcome.

"Are you alright?" he asked, worried again.

Suledin groaned. "Give me a minute."

Cullen fidgeted while Suledin closed her eyes and breathed in and out. Finally she stood straight and turned to face him.

" _Vhenan_ ," she whispered with a smile, before closing the gap between them and curling against him, her head tucked under his chin. He wrapped his arms around her, his hand resting protectively on her swollen belly. It was odd to think that soon the bump would no longer be there.

"Do you need anything?" he asked.

Suledin shook her head. "No, Dorian has been most accommodating. But you can hold me a bit longer."

Cullen smiled and squeezed her.

* * *

Several hours later, just after the sun had set, a new Rutherford entered the world.

Cullen could do nothing but stare as the healer cleaned his daughter and handed her over to her mother. _His daughter_. He was a _father_.

The birth had been smooth, despite the fact that Suledin was an elf and her child was elfblooded. And Suledin looked so calm. He had no idea how she did it. Suledin could look death in the face and remain completely at ease. And yet here he stood, gaping like a fish out of water at the miracle that had just occurred.

Suledin ran a finger over her newborn daughter's soft cheek and smiled happily. She then looked up at the love of her life. "Cullen, are you just going to stand there?"

He snapped from his stupor. "No, sorry. I'm just..."

"I know."

He smiled as he sat down on the bed with her. They both looked at their daughter and watched the little girl blink before closing her eyes.

"She's beautiful," Cullen whispered.

"She is," Suledin agreed.

Fighting back tears that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Cullen grabbed Suledin's free hand and laced their fingers together. She looked at him and noticed him fighting back tears.

"Oh, Cullen," she hummed. "You may cry, _vhenan_."

Cullen shook his head. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They sat together in silence after that, the three of them, simply breathing. Their little family.

"Alright, darlings, enough mushy stuff!" a voice suddenly interrupted the serene moment. "Uncle Dorian needs to meet his niece and bless her with his elegance!"

Suledin and Cullen glanced at each other with knowing smiles.

"Oi, I get to see the squirt first!" Sera's voice interjected.

It sounded like an army was trying to fight their way up the staircase. Dorian and Sera practically lunged in first, but ended up tripping over each other and landed comically on the floor. Bull snorted at them and stepped over them.

"Looks like I'll see the kid first," Bull laughed.

Cassandra followed behind the Qunari, but did not say anything. She simply smiled at her two friends and their baby.

Sera got up and squinted at the new family. "Wot? That's it? It's so...squishy."

"Eloquent as always, Sera," Dorian huffed.

"Oh shut it, Mr Fancypants."

"What is her name?" Cassandra decided to intervene before Dorian and Sera started an argument.

"Nina," Cullen replied proudly.

"Well, that's just disappointing!" Dorian huffed. "You should have named her Dorina!"

The room erupted into laughter.


End file.
